She Used A What?

by Kevin M. Sullivan

So what is it about using an axe to kill somebody that seems so diabolical?

The most common way of intentionally disposing of a human nowadays is by pulling the trigger of a gun. So what is it about this ancient instrument that often gives us the creeps?

I suppose, for one, it takes a lot of effort to kill with an axe, since it is up close and personal. It’s heavy, so you must lift it, and then rear back, and with as much controlled force as possible, let it fly forwards in a process which may require repeating numerous times until you achieve your intended goal.

Yet another reason it sends chills up our spines is that some women have made it their weapon of choice to remove people from the planet.

Of course, the person most likely to come to mind when meditating axe of hatchet murderers would be Lizzie Borden.

Okay, I know, some folks don’t believe she’s responsible for the killing of her stepmother and father; that it must have been an outsider, or maybe someone else living in that big old house in Fall River, Mass, so long ago. I would like to say that she, in fact, must be the culprit, because anyone who looks as suspicious as she does in her portrait, has got to be a killer -- that’s all there is to it.

But that’s not evidence.

So I guess we’ll have to take a look at the case, and be fair about our detective work as we go about it.

Anyway, things were about to change in Fall River, Massachusetts, that hot August of 1892, and it had to do with more than just simple murder. It had to do with murders committed in the most horrendous of ways – with an axe – and worse still, the crime would soon be shrouded in a mystery that continues to this day.

The Borden house, a quaint two-story wooden structure located at 230 Second Street (92 Second Street in Lizzie’s day), is a part of the Corky Row Historic District. If you stand before it today, it belies the fact that something so grisly ever transpired within its walls.

Here are some facts about this long ago crime:

The Borden family, well-known in this town of some 75,000 souls, consisted of 70-year-old Andrew Borden, a wealthy banker and all-around entrepreneur; his second wife, Abby Borden, 64; and Andrew’s two unmarried daughters, Lizzie, 32, and Emma Borden, 43 (Emma would not be present during the murders, as she was away visiting friends).

Bridget Sullivan, a recent immigrant from Ireland, served as live-in maid to the Borden household, and was present when the chopping began.

John Morse, an uncle of Lizzie’s, had arrived at the Borden home in the afternoon of the third, and would leave the premises on that infamous day only hours before the killing began.

Since we’re dealing with the family structure now, it is important to note that life in the Borden home was anything but idyllic -- while it is certain Andrew Borden loved his wife, the daughters were far less enthusiastic towards their “mother,” and in fact, disliked her.

There was also (and isn’t this the way it is when it comes to people and money?) quite a bit of concern on the part of the daughters that relatives of Abby would profit financially from Abby’s and Andrew’s relationship, even prior to their deaths. Understanding this makes the events of August 3rd all the more interesting.

During that evening, both Andrew and Abby were ill and had been vomiting. This, evidently played on mama Borden’s mind, for early the next morning, Abby went to see Dr. Seabury Bowen who lived just across the street. After a brief examination, he assured her she’d be fine and sent her back home. Of course, the doctor was correct. Abby and Andrew Borden had not been poisoned, and why Abby believed so in the first place speaks clearly of her unusual apprehension and her home life.

Also that morning, it has been alleged that Lizzie attempted to purchase prussic acid, ostensibly to be used in her cape to kill moths and other tiny bugs, but she denied this. Given the testimony of others present at Smith’s Drug Store that morning, however, it appeared she was lying.

Later that evening, Lizzie visited her good friend, Alice Russell, and told her of her fear that something bad would soon happen (she even mentioned that she too believed Abby had been poisoned). As she was about to leave, she told her friend, “I am afraid somebody will do something; I don’t know but what somebody will do something.” (Lizzie Borden: The Legend, the Truth, the Final Chapter by Arnold Brown)

And somebody would do something very shortly.

On the morning of the fourth, everyone was up early as usual. After breakfast (Lizzie did not come down), Andrew left on his morning rounds to the bank and to collect rent from some of his many properties. He would return home later to rest and eat his noontime meal. John Morse, as mentioned earlier, left the Borden home during the morning to visit relatives across town. Abby cleaned up the room Morse had occupied. Bridget Sullivan, who had been up and busy since a little after 6:00 am, would retire to her room for a rest just before 11:00 am. Apparently, Andrew Borden, who had returned home around 10, decided to rest on the sofa in the sitting room about the same time. Unbeknownst to the aging Andrew, however, his wife Abby was no longer among the living.

According to the investigation, at approximately 9:30 that morning, as Abby Borden was straightening up the guest room occupied by John Morse, someone crept into the room and and whacked her in the back of the head and neck with an axe, killing her very quickly. At the time of her death, her husband had not yet returned home, and Bridget was outside the house doing work. Apparently, only Lizzie was in the house at this time, although it has been stated that Lizzie was both inside and outside the house that morning.

And then, at approximately 11:10 am, Bridget Sullivan heard Lizzie scream out that her father had been murdered. Andrew Borden had been killed either while he rested (probably not), or while he was being engaged in conversation by the one who killed him; an odd conversation, as Andrew would have been exchanging words while looking at this person holding onto an axe. Nevertheless, like Abby, he was killed very quickly, and the scene the murderer left behind was a gory one indeed.

Suffice it to say that Lizzie Borden was, at the time, looked upon as the most likely person to have killed her father and stepmother. True, there were other suspects to be considered. Yet nothing (in my view) points to anyone else as being the killer but Lizzie Borden.

It’s all a moot point now, however, as all participants are now long dead. On the other hand, perhaps one day that singular and very important piece of evidence in the case will surface that will either exonerate Lizzie, or forever condemn her as the most infamous axe murderess this country has ever seen.